Factors Affecting Consumer Choice and Willingness to Pay for Milk Attributes

This study used weekly scanner data to determine within the milk market the factors that affect consumer choice of non-rBST and organic products and the implications for the development of niche markets. This was accomplished by first understanding what product attributes affected demand for milk and then determining how much consumers were willing to pay for these attributes. The former was done within the multinomial logit framework while the latter used the hedonic price model to infer WTP. Results showed the price effect for rBST-free was the largest while the price effect for organic was the smallest and that consumers were willing to pay more for both rBST-free and organic milk compared to conventionally produced milk.Consumer/Household Economics,

The University of Alaska Anchorage experience

In the fall 2005, when two faculty librarians at the University of Alaska Anchorage’s (UAA) Consortium Library realized that three people on the library staff were enrolled in library school, they saw the perfect opportunity to start a discussion group that would benefit both currently employed librarians and students entering the information field. The original three students were enrolled in the MLIS distance program at the University of Washington, working in the Consortium Library, and taking classes part-time. The two faculty librarians had been out of library school for more than ten years by then, so the intent was to organize a forum with an informal, relaxed atmosphere that would be an engaging way to keep up with current curricula, to learn about class projects the students were working on, and to hear about their experiences. While the librarians learned from the students, the students could, in turn, share their new expertise with the library faculty. That was the beginning of what came to be known as FLIP: Future Library and Information Science People.1 Now, nearly seven years later, FLIP is still going strong. What the name stands for has changed slightly—to Future Librarians and Information Professionals—and the membership has expanded to include anyone considering a career as a librarian or enrolling in an MLS or MLIS program. Characterizing FLIP as a “mentoring” program misses the mark, since so much more than just mentoring is happening. Because the benefits go both ways, we prefer the term “un-mentoring” to describe FLIP. Regardless of its definition or description, however, the original purpose remains the same: to provide an informal discussion forum that enriches library school studies with librarian expertise, advice, and insight

Study of Influence of Calcium Content in Milk on Quality Indicators of Cottage Cheese

The analysis was realized, and the dependence between the calcium content and organoleptic and functional-technological properties of milk as a raw material for producing sour milk cheese was determined. It was demonstrated, that alongside with other factors, the important role in milk clotting belongs to calcium, which role is in binding of free OH-groups of phosphoric acid of casein micelles. As a result of the aforesaid, their negative charge and colloid stability decrease with further hydrophilicity decrease with further aggregation of casein molecules. It was established, that the excessive content of calcium in milk is negative that is manifested in formation of the dry and brittle consistence of sour milk cheese. There was offered the way of calcium content regulation in milk by its decalcification using the natural sorbent of sodium alginate. Regulation of the milk salt system, especially, the calcium content as an initial raw material for producing sour milk cheese by the change of the content and condition of calcium allowed to correct parameters of the process of sour milk cheese making and its functional-technological properties, especially, moisture-keeping ability, form stability and other. It was established, that the decrease of the calcium content in milk provides getting sour milk cheese with the soft, easily smearing consistence, without whey separation. The obtained data on the characteristic of organoleptic indicators fully correlate with studies of the microstructure and dispersity of sour milk cheese. It was determined, that milk decalcification results in raising dispersity of sour milk cheese at the synchronous increase of the percent content of protein particles with minimal size characteristics in the system. It was elucidated, that the microstructure of studied samples consists of protein grains of the same form, evenly distributed by the whole volume. Based on the obtained experimental data, there were corrected parameters of the technological process of sour milk cheese production. There were elaborated ways of formation of the culinary products assortment on the base of sour milk cheese, produced of decalcified milk

Infrared (2.08-14 micron) spectra of powered stony meteorites

Infrared biconical reflectance spectra of 60 powdered meteorite samples, representing 50 different stony meteorites, were measured as analogues of asteroidal regolith. Representative samples were measured in directional hemispherical reflectance to assure that Kirchhoff's Law can be used to predict relative emissivity from the reflectance spectra. These spectral data confirm that the O-H fundamental absorption band near 2.9 microns is an extremely sensitive indicator of incipient alteration, which often has taken place in powdered meteorite samples exposed only to water vapor in the air. Such non-carbonaceous samples typically contain less than 1 percent water by weight. Likewise, the C-H fundamental absorption bands near 3.4 and 3.5 microns are equally sensitive indicators of contamination with volatile hydrocarbons, which can also be absorbed from the air. The heavy, macromolecular hydrocarbons native to chondrites do not display such heavy bands, making detection of these bands in remote sensing of asteroids unlikely. Despite the spectral artifacts introduced by alteration and hydrocarbon contamination, powdered stony meteorites display a wide variety of real spectral features that can be used for their identification, including residual reststrahlen bands, absorption bands, and the Christiansen feature. Researchers found that the wavelengths of the peaks or troughs of each of these spectral features can be used independently to infer meteorite composition, but the best results are obtained when the entire spectral curve is used, or at least the portion of it encompassed by the 8 to 14 micron atmospheric window, in a digital search library

Exploring international students’ goals for full degree mobility inFinnish higher education institutions

Abstract. This thesis explores the goals of international students pursuing full-degree mobility in Finnish higher education institutions. It aims to identify how these goals evolve over the course of their studies. The research questions focus on the goals of students, the achievement goal orientation profiles of international students, and the stability of the reported goals throughout their degree program. The research used semi-structured in-depth interviews to collect data from 22 international students pursuing a full degree in Finland or who recently graduated from a Finnish educational institution. The study identifies several goals that motivate international students to pursue a degree in Finland, including personal growth, career development, cultural enrichment, and access to high quality education. The research also identifies different achievement goal orientation profiles among the participants, with some students exhibiting a mastery-oriented orientation and others a performance-oriented orientation. The study reveals that the stability of achievement goal orientation profiles varies among international students, with some maintaining a consistent orientation throughout their degree programs. In contrast, others experience changes in their approach to goals and success. This research provides insights into the goal-setting process for adult learners pursuing a full degree in higher education institutions in Finland and suggests several areas for further research

Integer Point Sets Minimizing Average Pairwise L1-Distance: What is the Optimal Shape of a Town?

An n-town, for a natural number n, is a group of n buildings, each occupying a distinct position on a 2-dimensional integer grid. If we measure the distance between two buildings along the axis-parallel street grid, then an n-town has optimal shape if the sum of all pairwise Manhattan distances is minimized. This problem has been studied for cities, i.e., the limiting case of very large n. For cities, it is known that the optimal shape can be described by a differential equation, for which no closed-form is known. We show that optimal n-towns can be computed in O(n^7.5) time. This is also practically useful, as it allows us to compute optimal solutions up to n=80.Comment: 26 pages, 6 figures, to appear in Computational Geometry: Theory and Application

GEOS I tracking station positions on the SAO standard earth /C-5/

GEOS 1 tracking station positions on SAO standard earth C-5 mode

The Heartbreak of Not Making Automated External Defibrillators Available For Public Use

An automated external defibrillator (AED) is one of the greatest advancements in defibrillator technology in the past several decades. Its purpose is to treat sudden cardiac arrest, the leading cause of death in this country. An AED checks the heart’s rhythm and will dispatch an electric jolt when needed to reestablish the organ’s normal electrical pattern. The magic of this portable device is that anyone can use it and it is relatively inexpensive to purchase. Studies have shown that access to AEDs can improve the odds of surviving a cardiac arrhythmia outside of the hospital and the American Heart Association estimates that an AED can improve a person’s chances of surviving the cardiac event by 49–75%. Not everyone shares the same enthusiasm for the widespread availability of AEDs. There is a patchwork of statutes, rules, and regulations concerning the use of AEDs, and a number of entities are fearful of liability issues. While airlines are mandated to have AEDs on commercial aircraft, and Congress encourages the placement of these life-saving devices in federal buildings, private industries have resisted most proposed laws that require the installation of an AED on their premises. Health clubs, shopping centers, hotels, and country clubs are examples of businesses in this category. Various theories have been advanced to defeat any proposed law that requires mandatory installation, but the bottom line seems to be a liability concern. This article will explore the history of AEDs, the legislation on the topic, and the cases that have arisen in an attempt to impose liability against an entity for the failure to have an AED on the premise during a cardiac event

The Heartbreak of Not Making Automated External Defibrillators Available For Public Use

An automated external defibrillator (AED) is one of the greatest advancements in defibrillator technology in the past several decades. Its purpose is to treat sudden cardiac arrest, the leading cause of death in this country. An AED checks the heart’s rhythm and will dispatch an electric jolt when needed to reestablish the organ’s normal electrical pattern. The magic of this portable device is that anyone can use it and it is relatively inexpensive to purchase. Studies have shown that access to AEDs can improve the odds of surviving a cardiac arrhythmia outside of the hospital and the American Heart Association estimates that an AED can improve a person’s chances of surviving the cardiac event by 49–75%. Not everyone shares the same enthusiasm for the widespread availability of AEDs. There is a patchwork of statutes, rules, and regulations concerning the use of AEDs, and a number of entities are fearful of liability issues. While airlines are mandated to have AEDs on commercial aircraft, and Congress encourages the placement of these life-saving devices in federal buildings, private industries have resisted most proposed laws that require the installation of an AED on their premises. Health clubs, shopping centers, hotels, and country clubs are examples of businesses in this category. Various theories have been advanced to defeat any proposed law that requires mandatory installation, but the bottom line seems to be a liability concern. This article will explore the history of AEDs, the legislation on the topic, and the cases that have arisen in an attempt to impose liability against an entity for the failure to have an AED on the premise during a cardiac event